The Ugly Duckling
by 1bluesapphire
Summary: One Saturday night, Hermione reads Lily and Rose "The Ugly Duckling." Are there any comparisons between Hermione and this story? Read and find out. Written for round twelve of the Quidditch Fanfiction Competition


The Ugly Duckling

AN: I don't own Harry Potter. Nor do I own this copy of The Ugly Duckling, but I did extend the ending. This story is written for round twelve of the Quidditch Fanfiction Competition. The prompts I have used are:

5) (quote) "Once bitten twice shy? Sure, but... why not get a bigger dog and bite them back?" A.A. Bell, Hindsight

7) (quote) "Revenge is not worthy of you. If you concentrate on revenge, you will keep those wounds fresh that would otherwise have healed." Adeline Yen Mah, Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society

8) (word) starstruck

If you were to ask Lily Luna Potter what her favourite day of the week was, she'd tell you that it was Saturday evening. For on Saturday evenings, when her mother and father had a date night, she and her brothers would spend the evening at their Aunt and Uncle's place.

James, Albus, Hugo and Ron would engage themselves in games of Wizard Chess, whilst Hermione would tell Lily and Rose a Muggle Fairy Tale.

Lily quite liked all of these stories, but her absolute favourite had to be Cinderella. One thing she had liked about that particular story was how Cinderella had forgiven her stepmother, saying, "Revenge isn't worthy of me. If I concentrate on revenge, I will keep those wounds fresh that otherwise would have healed."

Tonight, her aunt had told her, she and Rose would hear the story of the Ugly Duckling.

Once they were snuggled up in bed, and comfortable, Hermione began her story.

**"Once upon a time down on an old farm, lived a duck family, and Mother Duck had been sitting on a clutch of new eggs. One nice morning, the eggs hatched and out popped six chirpy ducklings. But one egg was bigger than the rest, and it didn't hatch. Mother Duck couldn't recall laying that seventh egg. How did it get there? TOCK! TOCK! The little prisoner was pecking inside his shell. **

**"Did I count the eggs wrongly?" Mother Duck wondered. But before she had time to think about it, the last egg finally hatched. A strange looking duckling with gray feathers that should have been yellow gazed at a worried mother. The ducklings grew quickly, but Mother Duck had a secret worry. **

**"I can't understand how this ugly duckling can be one of mine!" she said to herself, shaking her head as she looked at her last born. **

**Well, the gray duckling certainly wasn't pretty, and since he ate far more than his brothers, he was outgrowing them. As the days went by, the poor ugly duckling became more and more unhappy. **

**His brothers didn't want to play with him, he was so **  
><strong>clumsy, and all the farmyard folks simply laughed at him. He felt sad and lonely, while Mother Duck did her best to console him. <strong>

**"Poor little ugly duckling!" she would say. "Why are you so different from the others?" And the ugly duckling felt worse than ever. He secretly wept at night. He felt nobody wanted him. **

**"Nobody loves me, they all tease me! Why am I different from my brothers?" **

**Then one day, at sunrise, he ran away from the farmyard. He stopped at a pond and began to question all the other birds. "Do you know of any ducklings with gray feathers like mine?" But everyone shook their heads in scorn. **

**"We don't know anyone as ugly as you." The ugly duckling did not lose heart, however, and kept on making inquiries. He went to another pond, where a pair of large geese gave him the same answer to his question. What's more, they warned him: "Don't stay here! Go away! It's dangerous. There are men with guns around here!" The duckling was sorry he had ever left the farmyard. **

**Then one day, his travels took him near an old countrywoman's cottage. Thinking he was a stray goose, she caught him. **

**"I'll put this in a hutch. I hope it's a female and lays plenty of eggs!" said the old woman, whose eyesight was poor. But the ugly duckling laid not a single egg. The hen kept frightening him. **

**"Just wait! If you don't lay eggs, the old woman will wring your neck and pop you into the pot!" And the cat chipped in: "Hee! Hee! I hope the woman cooks you, then I can gnaw at your bones!" The poor ugly duckling was so scared that he lost his appetite, though the old woman kept stuffing him with food and grumbling: "If you won't lay eggs, at least hurry up and get plump!" **

**"Oh, dear me!" moaned the now terrified duckling. "I'll die of fright first! And I did so hope someone would love me!" **

**Then one night, finding the hutch door ajar, he escaped. Once again he was all alone. He fled as far away as he could, and at dawn, he found himself in a thick bed of reeds. "If nobody wants me, I'll hid here forever." There was plenty a food, and the duckling began to feel a little happier, though he was lonely. One day at sunrise, he saw a flight of beautiful birds wing overhead. White, with long slender necks, yellow beaks and large wings, they were migrating south. **

**"If only I could look like them, just for a day!" said the duckling, admiringly. Winter came and the water in the reed bed froze. The poor duckling left home to seek food in the snow. He dropped exhausted to the ground, but a farmer found him and put him in his big jacket pocket. **

**"I'll take him home to my children. They'll look after him. Poor thing, he's frozen!" The duckling was showered with kindly care at the farmer's house. In this way, the ugly duckling was able to survive the bitterly cold winter. **

**However, by springtime, he had grown so big that the farmer decided: "I'll set him free by the pond!" That was when the duckling saw himself mirrored in the water. **

**"Goodness! How I've changed! I hardly recognize myself!" The flight of swans winged north again and glided on to the pond. When the duckling saw them, he realized he was one of their kind, and soon made friends. **

**"We're swans like you!" they said, warmly. "Where have you been hiding?" **

**"It's a long story," replied the young swan, still astounded. Now, he swam majestically with his fellow swans. One day, he heard children on the river bank exclaim: "Look at that young swan! He's the finest of them all!" **

**The swan was so very happy that his new friends were like him. But what made happier was when he decided to go and visit his mother. When she saw him, she had a star-struck look on her face, and told him that he was the most beautiful of all her children.**

**The End." **Hermione finished, and closed the book with a snap.

Lily and Rose yawned; they were starting to feel a little sleepy. Hermione smiled, and kissed the two girls goodnight. As she crossed over to the door, Lily suddenly said, "That story reminds me of you, aunt Hermione."

Hermione started, and turned to her niece with a smile. "Oh really?" She asked, wondering what comparison her niece had come up with.

"Yeah. You see, aunt Hermione, you were never ugly as a child, but you weren't exactly pretty, either. That all changed in Fourth Year, when your hair became more manageable and your teeth became a normal size."

Rather than being offended, Hermione smiled. "Well, I can't deny that I was no model back then. But then again, I was more focused on my schoolwork, than i was on my looks."

"Did people ever tease you at school?" Lily asked, and Hermione nodded.

"Yes, I was teased. But there is a saying that says "Once bitten twice shy? Sure, but... why not get a bigger dog and bite them back?"

Lily chuckled, and yawned again. "Goodnight, aunt Hermione."

"Goodnight, Lily, pleasant dreams." Her aunt said, as she closed the bedroom door quietly behind her.


End file.
